Better Sony own these songs than the bank.

But what we’ve learned here is all the rightsholders who sold to Hipgnosis based on Merck’s involvement… I hope you had a key man clause, which you couldn’t get anyway.

Now the truth is most rightsholders are just interested in the money. As long as you pay them they don’t care who owns the songs, until…

They disapprove of a use.

Or find they underpriced their wares.

As for underpricing… How many times do rightsholders have to see this movie to understand that publishing rights keep going up? If you’re selling because you’re fearful your songs will be worth nothing tomorrow…

That may be true, but know that the assessors of the value of your catalog know that too. They are not in the business of overpaying. Merck’s theory was right, it’s just that interest rates went up and investors were pissed and wanted out. Merck may have single-handedly driven up the price of catalogs, he might have paid a ton in a fit of mania, but the truth is copyrights have long lives…

And the internet has proved a boon to the value of music and its associated rights. It’s music that underpins social media, every platform has to pay to use it. YouTube, TikTok, they’d be decimated without music. And they keep creating new platforms that need to be licensed.

And the truth is the new music business might be a fool’s errand, very little net for expenditure, but when it comes to proven hits, those pennies keep trickling in.

And giant music corporations are in the business of managing these assets. You need infrastructure. Was Hipngosis’s up to snuff? Comparable to those of the major labels?

Well, it’s all history now.

But the question arises what is going to be done with these rights. The truth is the major labels are somewhat somnambulant. They’re peopled by lifers who in many cases are phone answerers, as opposed to creative thinkers beating the bushes in new ways to drive up revenue.

The exception is Primary Wave, which is like a major label but without the new music costs. Yes, Primary Wave does release new music, but it’s de minimis in terms of their overall business.

All those roles at the record company, the product managers, the marketers… That’s how Primary Wave runs its business. So if you’re going to sell…

Then again, Primary Wave keeps buying and buying and how many acts can its A-level team service?

But now Primary Wave owns Kobalt and can do its own administration, which it lacked previously and…

What we learned with Spotify is that those with the most assets dictate the terms. Well, let’s just say they have inordinate power over the terms. And majors owning both recordings and songs…songwriters got screwed in these negotiations. Would it be better to have someone with a seat at the table who is song first?

Well, we’ve got that with Primary Wave, and now BMG/Concord…which is still in the front line record business, but is heavily weighted with publishing copyrights.

Independents innovate. Which is why they’re needed. And consolidation works against them when it comes to power. Although they still have power in new music production, where the majors are still operating under the old paradigm. Today you start very small in many areas and nurture and see what pops. If it doesn’t have a chance of getting in the Spotify Top 50 from the get-go, the majors aren’t interested. Which is why they are losing overall market share. Because it’s indie acts who are flourishing.

But when it comes to the past…

That’s where the power is in the music business. Hell, think of all the acts touring for Live Nation and AEG. The acts that broke prior to 2005, when the MTV/VH1 paradigm died, are cash cows. Can you say Coldplay? Good luck trying to build a Coldplay today.

So we lived through a decade of innovation in publishing, and now the era of consolidation has come upon us. Expect even more.

As for the acts…

The bottom line is you need someone who cares about you, who’ll fight for you, who will get licenses for you. After Kobalt’s computerized innovation all the major administrators have upgraded and are very good.

But…

Look at what is happening in visual entertainment, with Paramount scheduled to be acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery. Artists/performers are up in arms. But they don’t have the piece of the puzzle that makes all the difference, OWNERSHIP!

That’s what it all comes down to, that’s what gives you a seat at the table, and if you don’t have it…

Once you give up ownership, you give up power. Few performers own their recording copyrights, but many do own their publishing copyrights. And this results in a steady source of income without the creative accounting labels subject them to with recording royalties.

This business was built by independents. Consolidation started when Atlantic sold to Warner, and then Elektra fifty plus years ago.

And then thirty five years ago, A&M and Island joined the major folds.

And then Edgar Bronfman, Jr. rolled up companies to form what is now known as Universal Music and then Capitol was decimated and then split up and sold and…

What we’ve ended up with is a mature business. The only way you can beat it is via independence, which depends upon hits, whether it be rights from the past or new works. But the more rights the usual suspect majors gain, the worse it is for rightsholders.

Sony Music is baked into a larger corporation, it doesn’t have to worry about investor returns like Hipgnosis did when it was independent, it can weather storms.

But if it’s your rights that went from Hipgnosis to Blackstone to Sony…who exactly is looking out for you? You have no personal relationships, no one tied to the original sale. And what we know in the music business is someone with passion is more important than pure money, someone who will work your project/music is worth more than a big advance.

But all these acts took the money and now have little to absolutely no power. Everybody got paid, including their advisors, and they’re left with a pile of money after tax and I hope it pays dividends… Don’t forget, with songs you get paid on a regular basis, this does not happen when you sell out completely.

But we live in a money-based society, and everybody focuses on the buck.

Isn’t it interesting that the Eagles haven’t sold their rights. Nor Paul McCartney or the Stones. What do they know that everybody else does not?

Everything.

That all you’ve got is your music and your image and you want to be in total control over it, because no one cares about it as much as you.